Tag Archive: RNC

Late last night, Washington Post’s White House Bureau Chief Philip Rucker got ahold of the RNC/Trump talking points against news that President Trump is now under investigation for obstruction of justice. In any other news cycle, that’s a bombshell. Yesterday’s assassination attempt…Read more

Nobody was interested in electing a President Chris Christie. Cuddling up to Trump to get the VEEP pick went nowhere. He got Trump-dumped as Transition Chair. His state is ‘worst in the country’ on pensions. He’s a fiscal failure with…Read more

Promoted by Rosi. This was the day that I was most interested in attending the RNC here in Cleveland: the day New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would speak on behalf of Donald J. Trump. That’s another thing – here, I…Read more

Phil Murphy is making quick work out of a tossed-off comment made by Gov. Christie at the Republican National Convention. Christie, as you know, was passed over for the VP slot in one of the RNC’s more bungled episodes. slot but…Read more

Tonight’s theme at the RNC is Make This Convention Not Be Such a Dumpster Fire Make America Work Again. Expect bold, splashy and factually incorrect propaganda (just like last night) about the Republican way to power the American economy, put our…Read more

Promoted by Rosi. Yes, my life is weird. The man I live with – like me, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention – also goes to the Republican National Convention. Yesterday’s fun included platform chaos, which a desultory moment earlier in…Read more

Fetch the popcorn, the Republican Convention starts tonight. (Meanwhile this is what’s going on outside). Yes, it’s actually called the “Make America Great Again” RNC Convention. Below, is the schedule as I have it – first the nightly themes, then below…Read more

You remember this guy, right? The headstrong governor here in the land of make-believe who propagandized the happy-talk of Jersey Comeback with banners, theme music and videos and jacked-up Republican campaign rallies passed off to the taxpayers public town halls in their best interest. How’s that working for ya? Christie quietly retired the banners a couple years ago, and knew better than to utter that phrase in his Republican National Convention speech that same year. Christie’s trying to make a case for himself as viable on the national scene beyond the RGA, tougher now because of the scandals. But we’re still left with the impact of some piss-poor state economic decisions over recent years, many of them his.

Unemployment is up here, though the state is using terms like “flat” and “small dips” to describe it. New Jersey lost about 1,300 jobs in March, bringing NJ’s unemployment to 7.2%. That’s up from 7.1% this time last year, and lagging half a point behind the national rate of 6.7%.

The Court that brought you the Citizens United decision, upholding the concept of “corporate personhood” and allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited money independently to influence elections, today struck down federal limits on overall campaign contributions the biggest individual donors may make to candidates, political parties and political action committees. Your $35 check, even your $1,000 check, is now worth maybe a little less in the new world of how campaigns are paid for.

Though the contribution limits to candidates for president or Congress stays the same – $2,600 – the Court decided that limits on the total amount given are unconstitutional. This removes the ceiling for wealthy donors, who no longer have to add up all their checks written to make sure they haven’t exceeded the cap currently set by the federal government.

It was a 5-4 decision, with Chief Justice Roberts writing the decision. The Court found that the limits violate the First Amendment rights of contributors. It’s a green light to superwealthy donors. They, and everyone else have been restricted from giving no more than $48,600 to federal candidates, and $74,600 to political action committees during a two-year election cycle, for a maximum of $123,200. Those limits were part of post-Watergate reforms, to make it harder for big contributors to buy elections with their outsized wallets, and to restore public confidence in campaign finance.

We’re moving backwards now.

The victory goes to Shaun McCutcheon, an Alabama businessman and GOP activist who challenged the cap on contributions. The RNC is already on record cheering the decision.